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The remains the Folgefonna ski lift lie twisted on the melting ice of the Norwegian glacier, home to one of only six summer-only ski resorts in the world. Just last year, Fonna was a popular training ground for Olympic and FIS skiers. Now the glacier resort is a sad symbol of climate change and financial collapse, leaving the future of the once-iconic facility in doubt.
- Related: Folgefonna Glacier Ski Resort in Norway Saved After Bankruptcy—Set to Reopen for Summer 2025
Folgefonna Glacier Ski Resort, known locally as “Fonna,” has long been a mainstay for national ski teams, youth programs, and international athletes seeking off-season training on its glacier slopes. Perched high above the Hardangerfjord in western Norway, the resort is accessible only in summer, when the snow-blocked road through Folgefonna National Park can be cleared.
The ski center declared bankruptcy last winter but local ski associations and grass-root initiatives formed a new company, Fonna Sport AS, to revive the resort. Plans for a 2025 reopening, however, stalled in June, when there was a disagreement between investors. On Tuesday, September 2, local newspaper Hordaland Folkeblad shared a shocking video of several lift masts lying toppled over on the glacier and one even submerged in the meltwater lake forming at the glacier’s base.
“I’m surprised at how quickly it has happened,” said Jostein Bakke, a glaciologist and professor at the University of Bergen, in an interview with Norwegian newspaper NRK. Bakke has monitored the melt for years and warned that the lake, which began as a small pond, will continue to expand. “This is just the beginning,” he said.
- Related: Norwegian Freeskier Completes World Record Pond Skim at Summer-Only Ski Resort Folgefonna, Norway
Folgefonna is one of only six ski resorts in the world that operate exclusively in summer, relying on the glacier’s snowpack to provide training conditions in the Northern Hemisphere long after winter resorts have closed. For decades, teams from across Europe flocked there for off-season practice. The resort was official training ground for the Swedish moguls team, German Alpine team, and many others.
But bankruptcy has left the lift infrastructure and glacier to deteriorate. In the past, the resort covered vulnerable sections of the slope with tarpaulins and trucked in snow from nearby parking areas to preserve the base. Without that upkeep, melting has accelerated. “Already in May we saw that there was a hole in the snow front. What is now a lake started as a small pond, and has gradually grown larger and larger,” said Åsmund Bakke, CEO of Folgefonni Breførarlag, a local guiding company.
Replacing the lift has been estimated to cost 30–40 million kroner ($2.8–3.7 million). Spare parts are scarce, and with the contract between the nonprofit group Fonna Sport AS and the bankrupt estate terminated in August, future operation appears increasingly unlikely. It is shocking how quickly the glacier ski resort has fallen into collapse and while the new operators are squabbling amongst themselves, the situation at Fonna will continue to get worse. The ski resort lies on the edge of Folgefonna National Park, which restricts how far new lifts can be built up the glacier. The tongue of the glacier where the collapsed lift sits is splitting in two, a process that will halt new ice growth.
The new operators would not have been able to access the glacier until late spring and at this point a lot of the damage to the glacier and lift infrastructure may have already occurred. For now, the infrastructure has been fenced off and it does not seem like any steps are being taken to fix the situation. It could be the very sudden and tragic end to a formerly stunning glacier ski area.
